sdelmonte: (Default)
Alex W ([personal profile] sdelmonte) wrote2005-05-08 06:13 am

King of Horses, and Horse of Kings?

So earlier in the week, I was looking at a list of the horses in the Kentucky Derby. I know nothing about horse racing, but follow the Triple Crown, like many Americans.

And listed as the longest longshot, according to the racing writer for the NY Times, was Giacomo. But I saw that name and said to myself that this was the horse. Or so would say a huge fan of "The Court Jester."

Giacomo won. A 50-1 longshot won. And I called it.

Why, oh why, didn't I place a bet?

Simon

[identity profile] braider.livejournal.com 2005-05-08 11:37 am (UTC)(link)
Heh. I remember feeling sorry for the one they annonced on NPR as the longest shot, and hoped he'd surprise them, but didn't think he'd win.

[identity profile] dotsomething.livejournal.com 2005-05-08 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Horse-racing is the only sport I get excited about.I watched the Kentucky Derby yesterday and while watching the profiles of the favorites, I said "one of these years, a 58-1 long shot is just going to win."

And one did.

My horseracing bug came from spending hours as a child reading first Misty of Chincoteague, then Walter Farley, then the Horse Called Bonnie series, and then starting in highschool, the complete works of Dick Francis. The last 3 actually give quite a lot of info on horseracing.

There must be something inherently about horses, though, because I've seen a lot of misty-eyed, sentimental, heart-swelling sports movies, from Field of Dreams to Rudy, and none of them have made me a sports fan.

[identity profile] mabfan.livejournal.com 2005-05-08 02:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Because if you had placed a bet, Giacomo would have lost. Such is the perversity of the universe.

[identity profile] doeeyedbunny.livejournal.com 2005-05-08 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Even if you had placed a bet, you probably wouldn't have bet much $, and then if contrary to Murphy's Law (as [livejournal.com profile] mabfan points out) the horse did win, you would be saying "why oh why didn't I bet more money?"

I just think it's cool that someone named a horse Giacomo. I LOVED that movie.